what can I say that's not already been said?…read more my experience was excellent from the beginning. I went on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 4pm with my cousin. we arrived early but were still promptly greeted by the owner's son who explained some ground rules such as masks were to be worn inside the museum. we were free to peruse the many artifacts that Mandy Aftel (the proprietor) collected over time. and when we were ready to smell some scents we could go outside where they were all carefully laid out and labeled. as a mildly OCD person, I loved how organized everything was. my cousin who was with me is an interior designer so her "design eye" was especially attuned to the museum environment. I asked her what she thought and she basically said that it was aesthetically pleasing (the details I did not ask bc I would probably not understand). Her response sufficed to say the least. Anyway, I loved that we also got to meet the proprietor! She was lovely. I was impressed by her ability to change careers and do what she loved in her 50s! amazing! I wish we could just go in to look at the little shop surrounding the checkout desk but maybe I'd come back with another friend just to look at the 300 year old books. such a cool experience!

It's a museum on scents and perfumes. There is a small rare book collection on perfume recipes,…read moreperfume ingredients, scent smelling, etc. Some books date back to 1820. I found the books quite interesting - easy to read. I never given a thought that there was a science in making perfumes and scents. The museum is inside a cottage that looks like it was built in the mid 1900. It's small, cute with well thought out displays and simple to understand signage. The family owned staffed museum is friendly and informative. Inside, you are required to wear a mask to smell perfume samples and a glove to touch artifacts, open drawers and books. Outside you get a paper sniffer to smell bottled perfumes and a black cloth to clean your nostrils from smells. Admission is $25 per person including smelling/touching packet. You will receive a brief introduction and then you are free to guide yourself in the museum. The museum is only open on Saturdays with reservations. Mandy, the woman, who created this museum, authored several books on scents and perfumes. She will sign your books upon request. My favorite display is the 19th century clove ship from Indonesia. It's so intricate - something to appreciate for the person who built it. Scents are natural essences of animals, flowers, fruits, trees and whatever.

Beautiful gardens hidden away in a busy city…read more Sad to see a group of teen throwing trash into the lake. They don't even respect their own area.

I went for one of their Intro to Bonsai classes (doesn't teach how to do bonsai, just fundamentals…read moreof what bonsai is, how to appreciate, etc), and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a one hour intro led by a volunteer, who was knowledgeable and also answered a lot of our questions. Afterwards, they took us around the garden and gave us an overview of some of the trees in the garden. Membership is also available and fairly affordable - also seems to come with a lot of good perks! Regardless if you go for the class or not, it's a very nice and tranquil way to spend an hour or two.

One of many great museums in the Bay area. This one list the…read moremany achievements made by the thousands of women who came to Richmond to help build the ships for the war. I learned that Henry J Kaiser was responsible for building and hiring of women from across the nation. For those of us who grew up in the Bay area,this is a place that you have to visit. I never knew how history important this area was. Definitely worth the drive

One Star for being difficult to find. The parking attendant/gate monitor was rather unhappy about…read moreher job needing to escort lost visitors, and I don't blame her. The signage could have been significantly better as I ran into multiple other small groups who were lost. (And it was cold and windy, being on the waterfront in Summer... as expected for the Bay Area.) Two stars for barely mentioning Betty Reid Soskin when she has been such a big part of completing the Rosie story by including the Black perspective of the Richmond shipyards experience during WW2. Even the Park Officers working at the museum reception seemed turned off regarding our interest in her story. (I'm really sad that I didn't visit before her retirement in 2022, but thankful for YouTube videos of her lectures.) Five stars for being such an interesting taste of the past and doing it in such a way that the visit didn't feel rushed. The exhibits and artifacts were broad and interesting. It was great to see how women played such and important part of our wartime manufacturing history. Five stars for being free... with free parking, if you can figure out that you have to go through the gate guard and around the corner to the right to the very, very small parking lot located behind the entrance of the museum.

This was a perfect stop for a staycation since it was open on Labor Day. It was pretty quiet, which…read morewe didn't mind. There were so many types of flowers, some of which I've never seen, and it leads out to Lake Merritt itself. My family and I took our time to look at everything and we there for about an hour. *Verdict: Free to the public, this is a great place to soak in the sun and escape from the hustle and bustle of the city!

A lot of times, after my run around the lake, I like to come here and just walk around, it's so…read moreserene and peaceful here! It really doesn't feel like 7 acres in here at first, but once you explore all of these gardens, you get a feel of just how expansive it is in here. It's free to enter, but also has limited hours. It's open weekdays from 8AM-3PM and weekends from 8AM-4PM. You will find people sitting on the many benches in here conversing, or just taking in the scenery. I've been walking through here for a long time, always enjoy being here!!

It's a great photo location during sunset…read more There is no parking unfortunately, so park on the side of the road with your emergency on. Be careful as cars are coming downhill and making a blind spot turn. Maintained extremely well and clean. Lots of history plaques here if you like to read. Can get very windy as it's on top of a hill.

This is a unique garden and information center, which provides information on fire and earthquake…read morehazards in the Bay Area. On the upper deck are information plaques that give a lot of helpful information. The lower portion consists of beautiful, rolling gardens. It appears that many of the plants are native California species. The lower portion has trails that you may used to stroll around the beautiful gardens. The entire facility appears to be professionally designed and well-maintained.. Probably won't be considered a five-star attraction, but it's worth a brief visit. This is a convenient way station for bikers going up the road. There's a drinking faucet right next to the road, making it super handy for the bikers. Free parking right next to the center.

Berkeley Rose Garden is such a beautiful and peaceful place to visit! There are so many different…read moretypes of roses, and the whole garden feels very nice and relaxing. I came here last saturday on a nice weather day and really enjoyed walking around, taking pictures, and just enjoying the area. The garden also near Grizzly Peak if you want a panoramic view of Berkeley - SF area, hiking here also great. Overall, the rose garden is a perfect spot for a casual walk, hanging out, or a quiet afternoon. Parking can be a little challenging, but definitely worth the visit if you are in Berkeley!

Visited today with BB -- our first time here. We definitely picked the wrong season, as most of the…read moreroses have already been pruned. Even so, the garden itself is peaceful and well maintained. What really stood out was the view -- you can see the Golden Gate Bridge from the garden, which is beautiful and unexpected. There's also a constant sound of rushing water nearby (not sure if that's always there), but it added to the calm and made the few roses still in bloom more enjoyable. The garden is wheelchair accessible, though I will note the hill leading up to the entrance is very steep. They do have public restrooms and tennis courts on site, which is nice. Street parking only -- and be careful, cars come around the bend quickly. Overall, even though we missed peak bloom season, it was still worth the visit for the views and the atmosphere. I'd love to come back in the spring when everything is in full bloom.

I had a nice day date with my mom here the other week! Upstairs is the permanent collection, which…read moreshowcases a lot of the city's history. Downstairs we're a collection of art pieces. In the courtyard that day, the artists were actually present! What a nice place, with free admission!

If someone would've told me 20 years ago that I'd ever have an interest in history I'd have…read morescoffed, so certain was I that "History", as presented in grades 1 through 12 could ever be fascinating to anyone. But if you're lucky, life is long, you grow, you change, and things you once slept through are suddenly fascinating. Richmond Museum of History is suddenly fascinating. In a former Carnegie Library, circa 1910, the compact Richmond Museum is crammed full of fascinating finds. It helps that Richmond has an utterly compelling history: After the Gold Rush (1848-1850), the most dramatic migration to the Bay Area occurred in WWII, when high-paying shipyard jobs brought hundreds of thousands of people to the area. The most explosive growth happened in Richmond, home of the Kaiser shipyards. Within a three-year period beginning in 1940, Richmond's population quadrupled to a whopping 93,000+ residents. The Richmond Museum of History houses extensive photos and memorabilia about the town - and people - not just from this period but from the period preceding it as well. The sheer volume of interesting old photos they have is amazing and they only have room to display a fraction of their cache. The space is crowded and dusty and compelling. Combined with their changing exhibit (currently: Jews of Richmond), it took me upwards of two hours to make my way methodically through the place, then I spent a little longer before exiting. A make-shift gift shop near the entrance/exit has hand knit caps, mittens, and scarves priced so reasonably that you should make a trip here just to get yourself outfitted for the next storm. The Richmond Museum of History is a fascinating, under-the-radar, offbeat attraction that should be a must-see for anyone interested in that sort of thing and/or local history. They've been blessed with an exceptional amount of archival material and it deserves to be viewed. Tickets run $5 ($3 for seniors) but free tickets can be obtained in advance from your library's Discover & Go site. Ample street parking can be had out front. Go. It's really interesting.

Just amazing! So, I've been entertaining a few out-of-towners recently and of course, as all…read moreTOURISTS do is they ask someone from SF for recommendations. Well, folks - I like to mix things up a bit and suggest a few off the wall things like say "Well, there's this carnivorous plants exhibit in GGPark" you know like venus fly traps and stuff. he he he. And sure enough an original feeling of "Oh man - A plant show, how lame" turns to "Carnivourous plants" Oh cool. I think there's something in the delivery between carnivourous and plants that gets a few uber dorks all hot and bothered. Two weekends ago, I finally took my own medicine and decided to head down to the park. Oh my! It was super cool. I love how nature evolves and creatively sustains its own life by feeding from other life forms. It's extremely interesting the way some plants lure in smaller life forms like ants from their sugary goodness only to slip them up and have them fall to their demise in their sticky digestivee juices. In one of the pitcher plants there even is a bee. eewwwwww Apparently, if a human stuck his/her finger in one of the plants for 2 days it would just look like a sunburn, or at least that's what the brochure said. It was very neat. The rest of the conservatory takes up 4 rooms and each one has its own distinctive climate. My favorite is the water plants. The show is on until November 4th. Check it out...it's really fun and only like 8 bucks. Here's an interesting story actually - so while I was in line this russain family of 2 cut in front of 4 people to get their tickets. We only had 30 minutes until the museum closed, but still - I mean it's to see plants not Harry Potter - Don't cut in line for a plant show. We heard them speaking russain before they walked in line. In english Arik says, "Hey the lines back there, you can't cut" and they ignore him. Then in russain, he says the same thing. They smile and proceed to purchase their tickets. I can't believe 1) People would cut in line for a plant show and 2) that the people in front of them would be so complacent. Jeez!

HRH The Lady of the House requested to see the "man eating plants" at the conservatory today. I…read moreresponded with my inner sixth-grader, and we promptly headed for the white palace. The carnivorous plant exhibit occupied the entire Special Exhibits room, at the end of the west wing. The abundance and variety of carnivorous plants was quite amazing. The interpretive signs also educated me, correcting misconceptions that I had just previously told My Lady with complete confidence that I was right. There was a humbling effect of having the botanists there to correct my stories. Magnifying glasses and real insects added to the excitement. Imagine, we were observing plants in the act of digesting animals! (Vegetarians might wish to ignore this exhibit.) Upon browsing the rest of the Conservatory, we discovered that there are some large and impressive carnivorous plants in the permanent exhibits, as well. This show runs May 4 - November 4, 2007. Open 9-5 Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students, complimentary for San Francisco Parks Trust members with tickets. The first Tuesday of each month is free for everyone. One need not be an actual child to enjoy.